'Cherry' ripe for captaincy

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One of the biggest questions to come out of Jamie Lyon's retirement last year was who would replace the Sea Eagles legend as skipper of the northern beaches club.

It looked as though youngster Jake Trbojevic would assume the role on a permanent basis having already filled in at times in 2016 while Lyon was out injured.

But Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett opted for the more experienced Daly Cherry-Evans; a move that has been emphatically backed by his teammates.

Prop forward Brenton Lawrence – who is a member of Manly's leadership group – told NRL.com the halfback's elevation to skipper made perfect sense given what he had already achieved at the club, as well as the fact he was locked in for life after signing an eight-year deal in 2015.

"He's got a great head on his shoulders and a big, strong neck to support that head," Lawrence joked.

"He's an exceptional talent and I'm glad that he's the captain because he's going to be around at our club for a long while.

"I think with Blake Green coming in to join him in the halves, it gives him more opportunity to balance both the captaincy as well as being the halfback of the side, which are two rather large responsibilities.

"He leads by example, but when it's time to say something he'll say the right things. He's played Origin, he's played for Australia and he's won a grand final and is still relatively young. He brings that experience that a lot of people don't have, and it's something for the younger guys to aspire to."

Cherry-Evans will receive plenty of support from his leadership group, especially Trbojevic who was named as his deputy for 2017.

The 22-year-old is seen as the future of the club, along with his brother Tom, and gained valuable experience in the captaincy role throughout 2016.

Lawrence said he was impressed with how his teammate had matured over the past 12 months, paying special tribute to the swagger he brought back after his time with the Kangaroos on the Four Nations trip at the end of last season.

"Jake is going to be at the club for a long time and I think that having positive people like Daly and Nate Myles and a few others is going to help Jake over the long run," he said.

"Jake came back from the Kangaroos tour a different man. He picked up a lot of experience and learnt a lot from some of the greats over there. That trip was good for Jake and I'd like to see him around more representative teams for the benefit of our team."